That's Not My Name
by amazingakita
Summary: an alex rider and castle crossover, standard stuff. i haven't touched this in years, please don't look too hard at it
1. Chapter 1

Castle's phone went off right next to his ear. He groaned, still half asleep. Beckett was calling. He answered wearily.

"Yes?"  
"We've got a case. You want in?"

Half an hour later, armed with coffee, Castle was sitting by Beckett's desk.

"So, what happened?" he asked.

"Someone bombed an alley. No-one was harmed. We're trying to work out why it was bombed."

"Any suspects?"  
"None yet. Esposito's talking to someone who was nearby at the time." Esposito walked in at this point.

"Talk of the devil." Castle said.

"So get this. Apparently, our mystery bomber is a teenager. The person I just talked to wouldn't say how they knew this, but the teen's name is Julius Grief."

"You know, that is the perfect name for a bad guy. You've got your historic figure of power, and almost a promise of what they're going to cause you." Esposito and Beckett looked at him. "What? You have to admire something like that." Ryan walked in.

"I found out something too. I know where Julius Grief is."

"Someone matching his description was seen entering a nearby building. Apparently, he rents the flat on the fourth floor."

* * *

Alex was relaxing in a flat in America. He was sent out there to foil SCORPIA's plans (yet again). For some reason, they were bombing areas of New York. All Alex had to do was stop it happening, and try and find out why they were doing it. It was 'simple'. Alex snorted. It was SCORPIA. When was anything ever simple with them? Suddenly, the door crashed open and people started yelling incomprehensible words. Instinctively, Alex dived for the gun, which was on the coffee table for some reason (Did he forget to hide it again?), and rolled into a standing position, to see 4 police... no, wait 3 police officers and a writer? Alex groaned when he realised the police had guns pointed at him. He dropped the gun he was holding, and placed his hands in the air. His hands were yanked forcefully behind his back. He heard a voice coming from behind him.

"Julius Grief, you are under arrest for suspicion of being involved with terrorists." Alex was stunned. Who were these people? More importantly, why did they think he was Julius?

* * *

Beckett walked in the interrogation room, Castle following behind her. The teenager looked up at their entrance. Beckett matched the blank mask on the teen's face with one of her own. She sat down, and folded her hands together.

"So, Julius, tell us why you were near the and what you were doing there." Alex quirked an eyebrow.  
"I'm afraid you've got the wrong person." he said.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I'm not Julius Grief."

"And why should I believe that?"

"Because it's the truth." Alex folded his arms.

"We've got people telling us you are." Alex's eyebrows shot up. Well, that was unexpected. What was SCORPIA's plan with this? They were the only people that knew about Julius... Unless it was one of his 'siblings' out for revenge...

"They're misinformed." The conversation went on like that for a minute or so more.

"So you're not Julius." Beckett finally said. Alex relaxed slightly. "But you do know him?"  
"...You could say that."  
"Okay. So what do you know of him?" Beckett asked, leaning forwards.  
"Plenty of things. I know his face, his parentage, his schooling, and the most important fact of all." Alex said with a smirk.  
"What is it? Is he a spy? An assassin? Son of a Mafia boss?" Castle asked quickly. Alex shook his head.  
"No. Well... Never mind. The most important fact is-" Alex was cut off by the door to the room opening. Esposito stood there with a file in his hand.  
"Beckett. Important information. Can't wait." She stood up with a sigh.  
"Castle, come with me. You, stay here." Alex put on his best innocent look.

"What is it? He was about to tell us something important!" Castle (almost) whined.  
"This is more important. This file is from the CIA. It says here Julius Grief is dead. Shot by an MI6 agent after trying to assassinate the American Secretary of State. That kid in there is not him. But get this." Esposito pulled out a photo.  
"They're twins!" Castle explained.  
"Well, let's find out exactly who we've got in there then." Beckett said, walking back to the interrogation room. It was empty. Everyone stared at the handcuffs and note that was on the table. Castle picked the note up, opened it, caught the disfigured paper-clip that fell out and laughed.  
"This kid has style." he said, still chortling slightly. He turned the note round so the rest could see it. There was one word written hastily on the paper.

 _Sorry._


	2. Chapter 2

Alex Rider strolled out of the police station with a smile on his face. Who would suspect that a 15 year old was the main suspect in a terrorism case, and that they could (and more importantly would) just calmly walk out of the building! He walked back to his rented apartment, and pulled out his phone. He considered calling MI6, but quickly dismissed the idea. He decided to wait for the police and see if they'd show up soon, or whether he'd be contacted by any spy agencies first. Surprisingly, the police turned up first. It only took them half an hour. He was in the living room, playing Mario Kart on a DS, when they knocked at the door.  
"Police, open up!" was yelled through the door. Alex sighed, turned off the DS (he was losing anyway) and opened the door wide, a grin on his face.  
"So who worked it out first?" Alex asked, completely ignoring the gun that was pointed at his face.

* * *

Alex was sitting back in the interrogation room, not handcuffed this time. Beckett wasn't in the room yet, so he was getting questioned by Castle.  
"Why do you look like Julius? Is he your twin? Your evil other half? Ooh, that's a good plot. And leaving the note? Then going back to your place? It was my idea to look there. I mean, it's so obvious. Why would you go there? Beckett was against it, but she had no better ideas. As we all know, it was a great idea." Beckett walked in at that point.  
"Castle! Stop interrogating him." Alex smirked. He'd faced worse 'interrogations'. Beckett turned to Alex.  
"So who exactly are you?" Alex thought for a second.  
"I'm Alex Rider."  
"And what were you doing at the explosion site?"  
"Would you believe me if I said I was trying to stop it?"  
"Like a teenage spy?" Castle asked. Alex's hands clenched. (It didn't go unnoticed. Behind the glass, Ryan asked Esposito about it.  
"Could have had parents who were spies, and are now dead."  
"Yeah, but would you have that reaction?"  
"Castle was just calling him a spy. Painful memories and whatnot.") Beckett carried on with the questioning.  
"I wouldn't believe you."  
"Then I'm afraid I'll just have to lie about why I was there."  
"How did you find out about the attack?"  
"A... An acquaintance told me about it."  
"And did your parents know you were going to do this?"  
"No." Alex answered honestly.  
"They're going to find out. We have to ring them." Alex looked at the floor.  
"Good luck." he murmured. Castle leant forwards.  
"Why do we need luck to get hold of your parents?" he asked. Alex rolled his eyes.  
"They're dead." That caught them off guard. (Ryan handed over a $20 bill to Esposito)  
"I'm sorry for your loss." Beckett said.  
"That's ok. Do you have all the information you need?"  
"Well first, we need to ascertain you are who you claim to be. (Ryan jolted towards a computer, and pulled up the name finder. Esposito just shook his head.) Then you should be able to go home." Alex froze slightly. They were going to try and find his file. Castle noted the reaction in the teen. Castle asked him about it and only caught a snatch of they reply. It sounded like "won't have high enough security clearance" to Castle.  
"Hey, Beckett. We've got a problem." Ryan called. "There were no hits for an Alex Rider in the US, but when I tried the UK..." Beckett walked over, with Castle and Alex following. Beckett read out loud "Need higher security clearance? Why on earth is a teenager's file so secure?" The group of four turned to look at Alex. Who wasn't there anymore.

* * *

Alex actually laughed as he walked out of the police station for a second time. His stomach rumbled. He looked at his watch. Half one. He decided to get some lunch before going back to his flat. They may check it first, as that's where he went last time, but then again, they may not. He hoped they would. That way, he could hopefully have some peace for a while. He picked up a sandwich from a small café called Café de l'Italien Agréable. The nice Italian café. Or the CIA. Whichever way you wanted to see it. Alex wasn't actually sure it was a branch of the CIA, but it was too large of a coincide to ignore. There wasn't anything to give it away this time, like meeting Joe Byrne in a back room or anything.

When Alex turned the corner to his block, he saw the car sitting outside the building. In it were two figures. Alex quickly turned around, and took the route through the alleys to get back to his flat. The route definitely did not include climbing up the fire escape, and breaking into his own flat. He got into the flat without being noticed. However, he was feeling the heat, and went to take a shower. Halfway through, there was an incessant banging on the door. Alex took his time washing the soap out of his hair, and picking up a towel to wrap around his waist. He opened the door, and nearly got hit in the face by a still knocking fist.  
"Can't I at least shower in peace?" Alex said, before catching sight of where they were staring. His wonderful collection of scars. He sighed, and gestured for them to come in.

* * *

Five minutes later, dressed in a shirt and jeans, Alex Rider sat in front of Beckett and Castle.  
"Where on earth did a kid like you get those scars?" Castle asked.  
"I... was in a gang." Alex replied slowly.

"You got those scars from a gang?" Beckett exclaimed.

"Yeah..." Alex said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Which gang were you in?"Castle asked.

"6." Well, that was one name they had.

"Never heard of them. Where were you based?"

"Chelsea."  
"Where on earth is there a Chelsea?" Alex just looked at him

"You mean to say you've never heard of the best football team there is?" Castle looked confused. Alex rolled his eyes. "They're based in London, of course."

"You're English?" Beckett asked.

"No, I'm Chinese." There was silence for a second.

"You do realise I'm joking, right?"

"Yeah, Yeah. Of course." Castle said hurriedly, getting out his phone. "So how on earth did you get all of those scars?" Alex shrugged one shoulder.

"I annoyed the wrong people. Are you taking notes?" Alex leant over, and quickly grabbed Castle's phone out of his hand. He read the list.

"So I'm going to be a character in you next book?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow. Castle beamed.

"So you know who I am! I can't decide whether you'd be a good guy or bad though..." A phone elsewhere in the flat rang at this point. Alex sighed and got up.

"I suppose I've got to get that. Help yourself to food. Kettles in the kitchen, cups, tea and everything else are in the cupboard above it."Alex picked up the phone, and walked to his bedroom. Castle looked at Kate, an excited look in his eyes.

"Castle..." Kate warned.

"I want to hear what he's saying."  
"No. Castle, you are not going to listen to his conversation just so you can use it in your book." Castle moved next to the door, ignoring her protests.  
"...Yes? Oh, hello Ben!" he heard through the door.  
...

"No, I'm in America."  
...

"They thought I was Julius Grief."  
...

"No-one of any importance. And, no, I didn't tell them anything apart from my name." This last sentence got quieter towards the end for Castle. He heard the click of a window being shut, or the snap of a phone being closed. He wasn't quite sure. There was silence for a minute. Castle was getting annoyed. Why won't he speak any more? He heard the kettle boil in the kitchen. Beckett must have taken Alex up on the offer of a drink. He heard the words 'castle' and 'shadow' faintly. Was that someone laughing? Now this was interesting again.  
"Yeah, he has no idea." There was the sound of someone taking a sip of something.  
...

"Yes, they're still here."  
...

"No, they won't interfere. I'll make sure of it." Castle was confused now. What on earth was this teenager involved in?

...

"The writer doesn't have the best common sense. Can't even tell where a voice is coming from." Castle frowned. What on earth was that about? Comprehension dawned. Castle span round to see Alex standing a few feet away, cup of tea in hand, phone in pocket, smirk in place.  
"I... You... What?" Castle spluttered out. "How did you do that?"  
"Can't say, I'm afraid."  
"That was just like a spy! Or an assassin... Why can't I decide whether to write you as good or bad?" he exclaimed, almost stomping his foot in frustration. Alex gave him a funny look.  
"Because life isn't black and white. There's many shades of grey (you make any 50 shades of grey jokes, and I'll send you shitty puns for as long as I remember to, kay? good.) in between, it all depends on what you believe. Your perception of white might be someone else's black." Castle just stared at the kid. Beckett came over.  
"I've never met a teenager with that outlook on life. Ex-SEALS, yes, but no teenagers." Alex grimaced at this. He could see Beckett's concern etched on her face.  
"Do you have any more questions to do with your investigation?" Alex asked politely. He really didn't want to talk anymore. Beckett pulled Castle towards the door.  
"Thanks for your time. We'll ring if we need to talk again." Alex closed the door, then leant on it for a second. MI6 were sending him on another mission. He had to meet Jones at the Café de l'Italien Agréable. It _was_ a CIA base, as it turns out. Alex sighed, then went to the kitchen to clean up his cup. He wondered when he would see his place again. If he would see this place again.

* * *

Castle complained all the way back to the precinct.

"What was that about? He was giving me great material!"

"He wasn't going to answer any more questions." Beckett said calmly.

"He didn't really answer them in the first place!" Silence for a moment.

"No... He didn't. Well, we'll call him."  
"Did you get his number?"  
"No, but it'll be on his ...file. Oh." Castle got his phone out and playing with it.

"Who're you texting?" Beckett asked him.

"No-one. Just drafting out a new character."

"Good or evil?"

"Grey."

"Hmm?"  
"He's going to be called Grey. He's an undercover spy."

"Satisfies your needs for the good and evil?"

"Yep."

"Undercover where though?"

"A terrorist gang. He's playing for the good side, don't worry. I was thinking that he'd be under suspicion for a bombing which he was trying to stop."

"You mean like Alex is?"

"Well... yeah."

"So you're basing him on this teenager."

"Of course. But this guy isn't going to be a teen, of course." Castle turned to Beckett as they were getting out of the car. Castle paused for a second, and turned to Beckett.

"Why did we doubt the kid was English? He offered us tea!"


	3. Chapter 3

A few days later, Beckett and co were called out to the scene of another bombing.

"Same motive as last time. Random bomb placed where no-one was hurt. We even got reports of a Julius Grief being here again." Esposito said.

"But he's dead." Castle stated.  
"Maybe someone's using his name."  
"Or trying to frame him. That'd explain why every witness that's talked to us knows Julius Grief." Beckett interjected.

"Maybe he never died. He just changed his name." Everyone turned to look at Ryan. "What?"

"Maybe he changed his name... to, say, Alex?" Castle said.

* * *

Alex was sitting on the sofa in his flat, bandaging up a particularly nasty burn on his arm. He hissed as the bandage touched his skin. When he had finished, he stood up and stretched, and let out a little yelp of pain when he moved the burnt arm. He carefully collected up the first aid kit, then promptly dropped it again as the door crashed open. He dove towards the table, which had his gun on it. Why do I keep leaving it out? flashed through his mind. Alex winced as he knocked his arm on the corner of the table. He jumped to his feet, to find 4 rather familiar faces looking at him.

"You know, if you're going to keep on coming round here, I'm going to have to give you a key."

* * *

Alex sat handcuffed to the chair in the interrogation room. His injured arm had been re-dressed by a professional, who was surprised at how well Alex had originally dressed it. He had just rolled his eyes at that. Castle and Beckett walked in, breaking Alex out of his reverie.

"All right. Who are you really?" Beckett said. Alex raised an eyebrow.

"I've told you. Alex Rider."

"How do you know Julius Grief?"  
"Ah..." Alex paused for a moment "Classified."

"Why does he look just like you? Is he your twin? Clone?" Castle asked.

"Well... he's not _my_ clone..." Alex murmured. Castle leant forwards.

"Who's clone is he then?" Alex snapped his eyes to Castle's.

"Classified." he said, his face devoid of any emotion. Castle was slightly perturbed by the blank face, and looked away quickly.  
"What did you do to your arm?" Beckett asked, continuing with the interrogation.  
"You talked to the medic. He's probably got a more in-depth answer than me."  
"Fine. How did you get those burns? Second degree burns all up your arms are hard to come by."  
"One arm. And I'm pretty sure it's classified." Beckett leaned towards Alex  
"How. Did you. Get. Those burns." she asked quietly.  
"Classified. And don't I get a phone call?"

* * *

Castle was spinning on a chair, and Beckett was staring at the whiteboard. Esposito and Ryan walked in.  
"Hey. Where's the kid?" Esposito asked.  
"Getting his call." Beckett replied  
"Really? There was no-one in the booths as we went past." Ryan said. Everyone froze. Castle started laughing. He stopped when the others glared at him.  
"What?" he said indignantly. "It's the third time he's disappeared from the station. You have to admit, kid's got style."

"Get the recordings for the phones. I want to know who he rang, and what they said."

Five minutes later, there was a very confused group of people staring at a transcript of the phone records.

"Let me get this straight. He phoned up a café and ordered a... Joe Byrne? What's one of them?" Beckett asked.

"I've been to that café. Nice place. Never once seen that on the menu, though. The name does sound familiar though..." Castle offered.

"I suppose we'd better get down there then."

* * *

Alex was sitting in front of Joe Byrne's desk, trying to get his help. It wasn't working.

"I can't exactly tell them I'm a spy for MI6! There's a reason it's classified!"

"So don't."  
"They think I'm Julius Grief. You know, the one who tried to assassinate your Secretary of State. And that I'm placing the bombs."

"Aren't you?" Alex glared at him.

"I'm only moving them so they don't hurt lots of people." Byrne's reply was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in!" he said. An agent stuck their head round the door.

"Sir, there are two NYPD detectives to see you." they said.

"Send them in." Beckett and Castle walked in. Castle did a double take.

"Joe! I didn't know you owned a shop! I thought you worked for the government..." Beckett nudged Castle.

"Sorry about barging in on you. We're investigating a string of bombings." Beckett said. "We have a suspect, who recently escaped from our precinct, and your café was the last place he called. We'd appreciate if you could help us by answering some questions?" Byrne nodded, and indicated the two chairs in front of his desk.

"I'd be happy to help. Please, sit down. Alex, don't leave just yet." Beckett and Castle turned and looked at the door to see one Alex Rider, frozen half way out the of the room. He sighed, turned round slowly and carefully closed the door. "What questions did you want to ask me anyway?" Byrne said, drawing Beckett's attention.

"I was going to why Alex called here... But I think first I'm going to ask how you know Alex."

"That's easy enough. He did a favour for me once." Alex snorted softly.

"Did you know him before the favour?"  
"Well, I certainly knew of him."

"What do you mean by that?"  
"I heard rumours."  
"Why would rumours be going around about a teenager?"  
"I don't know."

"What sort of favour did Alex do for you?" Castle asked.

"Is that really necessary for your investigation?" Castle shuffled nervously, and glanced towards the door.

"I was only asking." he muttered. Beckett gave Byrne a slightly odd look.

"Why did Alex call here?" she asked.

"Probably trying to use the favour. You know, he's still in the room. You could just ask him yourself." Beckett looked around. No sign of Alex. Or Castle.

"Um. Where?" she asked, confused. Byrne just looked at Castle's empty chair. Alex waved back from underneath it.

"I think Castle went looking for me outside." he said cheerfully. Beckett shuffled her chair slightly away from Alex.

"Oh...kay. Why did you call here?" she asked. Alex shrugged, and started to wriggle out from under the chair.

"Figured I should call in the favour sooner or later."

"And you thought that the right time would be in the middle of me interrogating you?"

"Well... Yeah, pretty much." Alex was sitting on the chair now.

"Why?"

"His job."

"Which is...?" Alex froze for a second.

"I think Byrne would explain it best. I never quite understood all of it." he said slowly, looking at Byrne, who sighed.

"I work with the government, as Castle said earlier." he said quietly. "I work part time for the child service. There was a rumour that one of the foster parents beat the children, but we could never get any evidence. Alex helped prove it." Beckett looked at Alex.

"Is that where the scars came from?" she asked. Alex shrugged a shoulder.

"Not all of them."

"Only some?" Alex rolled his eyes.  
"I did tell you I was in a gang."  
"What were you going to ask Mr Byrne here about?"  
"I was going to ask him for some help. I really don't want to impede your investigation too much. It's just that I'm not the one you're looking for."  
"Who are we looking for?"  
"If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be here."  
"Do you know why our every one of our witnesses has claimed to have seen Julius Grief?" Byrne's eyebrows shot up. Alex leant forwards.  
"Do they now?"  
"Yes."  
"Huh." Must be SCORPIA, not more Griefs. Now why do I think that's a good thing...? Alex thought, while leaning back in the chair.  
"You know something." Beckett stated.  
"I know lots of things. Did you know that the custard cream is the most dangerous biscuit? Or that Antarctica is the driest desert? No precipitation of any kind for 400 million years, because of the Katabatic winds." Alex was receiving some very odd looks. Castle was standing in the doorway, giving him the oddest look yet.  
"You know some weird things." he said. Alex just smiled.  
"What do you know about the bombing?" Beckett asked.  
"I'm not sure how much I can say..." Alex said carefully whilst glancing at Byrne. Byrne himself looked unsure as to whether to let the cat (or, more accurately, the scorpion) out of the bag. He leant forwards on his desk.

"They're a ruthless mercenary gang."

"Oh. I heard about this. Run by someone called Akoyn?"

"Yes. How'd you hear about it?" Castle looked at the floor.

"I may or may not know a member of MI6 and accidentally got them drunk. And then asked them about the spy world for my books."

"What was their name?" Alex asked.

"I think it was something like... Bunt? Blunt? Yeah, Blunt that's it." Alex looked like he was going to laugh. Byrne just looked incredulous.

"You got Blunt drunk?" Alex gasped. Beckett "Are we talking about the same guy here?"

"Short, fairly old, grey hair?"

"Oh god. Did you film him?" Alex was smiling. Castle was getting disturbed.

"Yeah, actually. But don't think I'm going to give it to you... How do you know him anyway?"  
"Friend of the family." came the quick reply. "Please can I have it? I promise I won't do anything too drastic with it." Alex did the most innocent face possible. Castle only lasted for a second before looking away.

"Fine. But you have to help us completely with this case."  
"OK! When can I have the film?"

"You can have it after you've told us what we want to know." Beckett said. Alex shook his head.

"I'll tell you everything to do with the investigation, after I've got the video." Castle sighed.

"I'll go get it sorted. Meet you at the precinct in an hour?" Alex nodded.

"I'll meet you there."

* * *

"A drunk Blunt? I don't believe it." Byrne said.

"Neither do I. But we'll get the video anyway. Then we can see."

"And your promise to help them with the bombings?"  
"Well, I'm not getting too far with them. So maybe they'll help." Alex shrugged. "I just hope SCORPIA doesn't try to 'deter' them from working on the case..."

"I'm sure, with the famous 'Agent Rider' on the case, everything will go fine." Alex just looked at him.

"You do remember Skeleton Key, right?"


	4. Chapter 4

Castle walked in to the precinct, carrying a USB stick. Beckett looked up as he sat down.

"No sign of Alex yet?" Castle asked. Beckett shook her head. They waited a bit. Then a bit longer. And then a few more minutes.

"Where is he?" Castle exclaimed suddenly. Beckett looked up from her paperwork.

"No idea." They heard a polite cough from Ryan's desk. They looked up.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've been waiting for half an hour. As much interesting information your computers have on them, there's not too much that interests me." Alex smiled. Beckett and Castle just stared.

"Are you a ninja?" Castle asked. Alex considered it for a second.

"I'm pretty sure I've never been to Japan." Castle seemed satisfied with that. Alex wanted to laugh. Beckett seemed to pick up on the omission though. However, she didn't say anything about it.

"So, what have you discovered so far?" Alex asked.

"Nothing. Just that it's happening, and you're involved." Beckett replied. "Why are you involved?" Alex shrugged.

"I foiled a few of their plans. I figured I could foil a few more."

"So why is this happening?"

"Well, someone's paid them too."

"Paid them too?" Castle exclaimed. Alex nodded.

"Yeah. Like Byrne said, they're mercenaries. Ruthless mercenaries." The pair seemed a bit stunned.

"Who's employing them?" Alex slumped in the chair.

"I have no idea." he said forlornly. "But I'm trying to find out."

"How? An informant?" Castle asked. Alex looked down.

"Yeah... If you want to put it that way." Castle looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Alex sighed, and ran hand through his hair.

"I'd rather not talk about it to someone in law enforcement. It's not the most legal of methods." Alex stared pointedly at Beckett. Castle was, for some reason, looking very excited.

"Are you torturing people?" he inquired. Alex flinched, paled slightly and stared at Castle.

"God, no! Why the hell would I do that?" he exclaimed. Castle pouted. Alex squinted and turned to Beckett. "Is he pouting because I'm not torturing someone?" Beckett sighed.

"You should see his internet history..."

* * *

Half an hour later of not getting much further, Alex stood up and went to leave. Before he to the lift, Beckett called out

"Hey. Where're you going?" Alex glanced back for a second.

"Intel gathering." was all he called before disappearing into the elevator that Ryan and Esposito had just vacated. Ryan stared at the lift doors.

"Wasn't that the kid we arrested? Why's he leaving? Where did you find him in the first place?" he asked, sitting at his desk. "Why's my chair warm?" Beckett answered his questions.

"Yes, but he's working with us now. He's got contacts on the inside, and he's meeting with them now apparently." Esposito froze.

"We found out who's planting the bombs. You're not going to like it." He paused for a second. "It's SCORPIA." Beckett froze. Castle looked puzzled.

"Who're they?" he asked. Beckett exhaled.

"They're the worst terrorist group to come up against. If you've got the money, they'll do what you want. Anything. Sabotage. Corruption. Intelligence. Assassination. Completely ruthless. And the best." Castle looked intrigued after Beckett's speech.

"So they're ruthless mercenaries?" Beckett inhaled sharply. Ryan and Esposito looked confused.

"Jesus Christ..." she swore softly.

"What is everyone talking about?" Captain Gates asked.

"We found out who's doing the bombings, sir. SCORPIA." Gates froze.

"Have you told anyone?"

"Only you."

"You won't have this case for much longer I'm afraid."

"What?" Everyone looked confused.

"The FBI and CIA will want to know about this. You won't have long before they take it over." There was a pause.

"However, I may forget to tell them until the day after next."

"Thank you sir. May I ask why?"

"Your only lead is that boy, yes? They'll do anything to get information out of him." With that particularly horrifying thought, she strode into her office.

* * *

Alex was in a bit of a predicament. He had successfully managed to break in to the main base for SCORPIA's operation, and get all the information MI6 wanted. However, he'd been seen and was now running through the streets of New York, being shot at. Luckily he had managed to 'obtain' a gun from the base. Unluckily, the base was in a high-end area of the city - the sort of area that would call the police if they heard gunfire. The sort of area that the police turn up to almost immediately if anyone calls. Alex swore when he heard a police car come driving down the road. He glanced back, to see the SCORPIA guards getting too close for comfort. He fired the gun three times, and heard three separate cries of pain. He dodged to the side to avoid the oncoming police car, and grinned at the expressions of the police men inside the car. He stopped running, and put on his best terrified face. A police officer walked over.

"Now, what's goi-" he started.

"Thank god you're here. These terrible men broke into my house and tried to rob it! Then, when I tried to stop them, they shot at me!" Alex gasped at the police officer.

"I'm going to have to ask you to come back to the station, so you can make a statement." the cop put a hand on Alex's shoulder. Alex had to repress a flinch. He didn't do it that well, if the concern that flashed across the police man's face was anything to go by.

* * *

Alex was sitting in the precinct after giving his 'statement', trying to contact MI6. He swore quietly at the phone after the fourth or fifth time of not being able to get through. You'd think that the secret service would want more information on the top terrorist group! He tried again.

"Royal and General bank, how may I help?" Alex almost danced on the spot.

"I'd like to speak to Mrs Jones."

The faint sounds of a keyboard being tapped.

"I'm sorry, but there is no-one here of that name."

Alex sighed.

"Just tell her it's from Alex Rider."

Tap tap tap. Beep.

"Alex. How are you?"

"Fine, for once. I have all the information. Who do you want me to give it to?"

"Bring it back to the UK as soon as you can. Have a safe journey." Click. Alex put the phone back in its holder, ran a hand through his hair, leant back and froze. A SCORPIA gunman had just walked out of the lift. Alex felt his chair tipping backwards. He lept out of the chair and tried to catch it. He missed. The chair let out an almighty crash. Everyone turned and looked at him. Even the gunman. Damn. The gunman walked over to Alex. Bollocks. Alex looked round. Nothing he could use as a weapon. The gunman was within reaching distance of Alex when he decided to pull out his gun.

"You've caused too much trouble for my employers." the gunman said. Alex smiled.

"It's become a bit of a habit I'm afraid." The gunman looked confused. Alex smiled even wider, and chuckled.

"You don't know who you're pointing a gun at, do you?" he asked in a low voice. The gunman was getting slightly freaked out, however his professionalism didn't let him show it. In a flurry of movement, Alex dived for the gunman and disarmed him. At the end Alex was pointing the gun at the SCORPIA operative, who was doing a very good impression of an unconscious person. Alex looked up. There were some very shocked faces and a few people with guns half drawn, including Ryan and Esposito. There was even one person who hadn't even noticed what happened. Alex placed the gun on a nearby table. The lift doors opened. Castle took a step out and stopped. Beckett nearly ran into the back of him.

"What's going on here?" she asked. No-one replied for a second. Someone called out

"We're not entirely sure either!" There were murmurs of agreement. Ryan put his gun back on his holster.

"I'm not entirely sure, but the guy on the floor was standing over there, and had a gun pointed at Alex. I think I blinked because the next thing I know Alex had the gun pointed at the guy, and... well. You can see what happened." Beckett looked around and asked the most important question.

"Where's Alex?"

* * *

Alex was climbing down the fire escape of the building, chuckling to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Alex had taken the USBs to Smithers, with the strict instructions not to tell Blunt about the video from Castle. He loaded up the video on a large screen. A rather flushed head of MI6 appeared, with what appeared to be a (James bond drink) in his hand.

"I bet he has it shaken, not stirred." Alex muttered. Smithers laughed.

"I'd bet on it." All of a sudden, a lovely tenor voice came out of the speakers. They froze, and turned to the screen. Out the corner of his eye, he saw some of the agents look up, then at each other obviously confused. Then, Alex heard the words being sang. Well. Sang was a generous description for what was happening on the screen. Alex looked at Smithers. Smithers looked at Alex. They burst out laughing. Alex could feel tears rolling down his cheeks. About 10 minutes later, when they had managed to stop laughing Alex agreed to let Smithers show the video to anyone and everyone he liked.

"However, I want to show Ben myself. And no-one can tell Blunt."

* * *

Alex popped over to Ben's flat on the way back from the bank. He knocked on the door. Some random guy opened it.

"What do you want, squirt?" he grunted. Alex raised an eyebrow.

"I want you to move, and let me in."

"No." he folded his arms, and lent against the doorway, leaving a gap too small for any man to get through. A teenager, however... Alex smiled and leapt through the gap.

"Hey Ben!" Alex called. "I've got something for you to see!" Ben's head appeared out of the kitchen door?

"Oh, hey Alex! I've got some 'friends' over" he actually made air quotes around the word friends "so no hurting anyone, ok?" Alex sighed.

"I suppose that'll mean I'll regret agreeing to this, but ok. No harming people." Eagle's head appeared above Ben's.

"Who are you? And how did you get past Boar?" Alex glanced at Ben, who nodded ever so slightly in answer for the unspoken question. Alex looked back to Eagle.

"Who?"

"So you're not... Oh. I thought you were someone I knew. Went by the name of Cub." Ben looked up at Eagle.

"I didn't know you were capable of thinking."

"That wasn't nice." Eagle pouted.

"What wasn't?" came a voice from the living room.

"Fox said I couldn't think!" Eagle yelled. Ben winced, then retreated into the kitchen.

"Yeah. And?" the voice called back. Eagle pouted even more. Alex just shook his head, and went into the kitchen, moving out the way of Snake, who had just come from the loo.

"So what have you got to show me?" Ben asked. Alex held up a DVD with the words 'Singing Blunt' written on it.

"This. You'll love it. I don't know whether your friends would or not. Have they met him?" Ben had taken the DVD and was examining it in the light.

"I am thinking of the right Blunt aren't I? Old and grey?" Alex nodded.

"I'll stick it on for you once you've finished cooking me tea!" Ben swatted at Alex.

"Fine. K unit won't know what's so funny. But they should see it anyway."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Alex was sitting cross-legged on Ben's sofa, with a bowl of curry and the remote in his hands. He pressed play, and watched Ben's face. It was worth it. Ben was in tears after 3 minutes. K unit were just looking confused. At the end Eagle started dancing round the room, singing the song. Snake just said

"Well, he was surprisingly good." Wolf was frowning in concentration.

"I've seen him before..." he said wonderingly. Ben was still in tears. Boar was staring at Alex. Alex was staring back.

"Why do you have a video of the head of MI6 singing?" he growled. Alex look confused, for the simple reason that why on earth would a teenager know who the head of MI6 is?

"Head of MI6? No, he's the head of Ben's bank. A bit of a bastard from what I've heard."

"Language!" Ben said. Alex rolled his eyes and muttered 'cafard'. Wolf looked at him.

"What?"

"Ben m'a dit regarder ma langue, donc je suis parler français." Wolf just gave him an odd look.

"Quoi?"

"Parlez-anglais, Alex." Ben sighed. Alex stuck his tounge out.

"Where exactly did you find this kid Ben?"

"Uh... Bangkok, I believe." Alex raised an eyebrow.

"We met before that. A lovely camp full of cute animals. The weather was amazing too." Alex sighed fondly. "Best eleven days of my life." Ben was laughing again.

"That's the best description of that place I've ever heard." Eagle lept up, and pointed a finger at Alex.

"I knew it!" he yelled. "You are Cub!" Alex smiled at the sudden attention he was getting from Wolf and Snake. Boar was looking confused.

"Who's Cub?"

"Me, of course." Alex stretched out his legs. Boar was getting even more confused.

"Why Cub?" Alex shrugged.

"I guess the sergeant wasn't very happy having a fourteen year old in his camp. Even though it was only eleven days." There was silence.

"You were FOURTEEN and you managed to keep up with us?" Wolf yelled.

"It was only selection, wasn't it?"

"You had a fourteen year old in your unit during selection? And you managed to keep up? Jesus kid, who are you?"

"Cub. That's who." There was an awkward silence.

"So, Boar, how's MI6 working out for you?" Boar's jaw dropped.

"How did you work that out?" Alex smiled.

"Simple. You recognised the head of MI6" Alex held up Boar's ID. "And you should be more careful about where you store this, anyone could have found this, Agent... Are you serious? God, I feel sorry for you." Alex threw the ID back to Boar. "What was your dad called?"

"No, he was not called Anakin. And yes, I have a sister called Leah."

"How did you get such an individual surname?" Boar sighed.

"My parents were CIA agents. They met on a mission and hit it off. Got married a few months after the release of the first movie. They double-barreled their surnames." Alex frowned.

"Was your father the Walker part of your name?" Boar nodded.

"They died a few years back, on a mission together."

"Was he about this tall" Alex made a gesture with his hands, "blond hair, brown eyes?" Boar nodded, slightly concerned.

"Why are you asking?" Alex shrugged.

"No reason."


End file.
